Ghosts of the Past
by MiLadyofNight
Summary: Henry misses his dad but has a plan. What could possibly go wrong?
1. School Project

Henry sighed heavily as he thumbed through the thick book in front of him, trying to find the information he needed. The library was deserted, as it always was on a Friday evening, except for Belle, but Henry didn't want to disturb her. He had hoped to get a head start on his school project about the first ogre war, confident in the knowledge that his classmates wouldn't start thinking about it until tomorrow, but the only information he could find about it was stuff he already knew from his storybook: that there had been an ogre war, that children barely older than himself had been sent to fight, and that the Dark One had stopped it. Henry had considered asking his grandfather, Rumplestiltskin, about it but judging by what he'd read in his book, it was going to be a very sensitive issue especially in regards to his father. Henry missed his dad terribly even if he didn't always let it show. He slammed the book shut, irritated.

"Is something wrong?" Belle asked kindly, approaching her step-grandson.

Henry breathed out deeply. "I've got to write an essay on the first ogre war but I can't find any decent information about it. For a war that ran for over fifteen years, you'd think it would be better documented."

"Have you tried asking Rumple?" offered Belle helpfully.

"I don't want to ask grandpa, it would bring up too many bad memories" explained Henry.

Belle thought for a moment. "You know what, I could do some cross referencing on the computer, find you the books that are most relevant."

"You have no idea how helpful that would be" replied Henry as he followed Belle over to the library computer.

Belle typed away, drawing up a small list of books. "There you go" she beamed. "I'll just find them for you."

Henry waited as Belle disappeared amongst the library shelves before returning with a trio of books. "All the information you need should be somewhere in these pages" she said, putting the books down on the desk.

Henry looked at the pile of books. "Thanks, you mind if I check them out for the weekend?"

"Not at all" smiled Belle. "Just let me scan them and they are all yours!"

With the books in his backpack, Henry bid goodbye to Belle and left the library, his walk home taking longer due to the added weight he was carrying. He arrived at the new apartment he shared with his mom and took the key out of his pocket. Turning it in the lock, he opened the front door and stepped inside, immediately noticing the black leather jacket hanging on the coat peg. "Hi Mom! Hi Killian!" he called out.

There was a scrabbling sound before Emma emerged from her bedroom, blouse buttoned unevenly, quickly closing the door behind her and looking flustered. "I thought you were going to Regina's straight after school? What are you doing here?"

"I just needed to grab some stuff for the weekend" answered Henry, avoiding eye contact with Emma and taking his schoolbag with him to his bedroom.

"Right, well…..uh….you go and grab your things and…..um…..have fun at Regina's!" Emma could feel herself blushing as Henry went into his room. She didn't want to give Henry the dreaded facts of life speech. That was something she was happy to leave for a few more years or preferably forever.

Henry re-emerged from his room with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder. "See you Monday!" he called out, declining Emma's offer to drive him to Regina's. He wanted to get out of the apartment as quick as possible to avoid thinking about what he'd just interrupted between his mom and Killian.

Meanwhile at Regina's house, Robin was struggling to get his baby daughter to sleep in the living room as Regina cooked dinner in the kitchen. No matter what he tried, Ivy was not going to sleep and continued to bawl at the top of her lungs.

"Daddy! Daddy! Look what I drew!" exclaimed Roland as he came running in. He proudly tried to show his father his newly created picture.

"That's lovely, Roland" said Robin, glancing momentarily at the crudely drawn illustration. "Why don't you go and ask Regina to put it on the fridge?" Robin regretted not being able to give Roland the attention he deserved, but with Ivy currently screaming in his ear, he had no choice but to focus on her.

Regina had just put the lasagne in the oven, when Roland came charging into the kitchen. "Daddy says you have to put my picture on the fridge!" he proclaimed, thrusting the drawing at Regina. "See, that's me, that's daddy, that's Ivy and that's you!"

Regina didn't know whether to feel flattered or offended at Roland's picture, especially as he had used the biggest circle for her body and given her bright red lips which made her look like a clown, but she told him it was great and he happily skipped out the room. The doorbell rang and Regina answered it to find her son stood there sweating. "Why the hell didn't Emma drive you?"

"It's okay" panted Henry. "She was busy. She offered but I told her I'd walk."

"Well next time, take her up on her offer" admonished Regina, stepping aside to let Henry in. "Put your bag in your room, dinner will be ready soon."

Henry trudged up the stairs and gladly put his bag down in his old bedroom, he'd underestimated the distance between both his moms' houses. He emptied his schoolbag of the three library books plus his storybook, setting them in a pile on his bedside table. He collapsed onto the bed and kicked off his shoes, the sound of Ivy's screaming still audible.

Eventually, Robin managed to get his daughter to sleep. As he put her in her crib, he smiled at how angelic she looked. He tiptoed out her bedroom and back downstairs to where his family were finishing their dinners. Robin joined them and began consuming his plate of lasagne.

"Is Ivy asleep?" questioned Regina, almost whispering in case the baby suddenly woke up.

"She should be down for a few hours" answered Robin. "Or at least here's hoping. I think she might be teething."

"I'll drop by the pharmacy in the morning, see if Sneezy has anything in stock. It's been so long since I had to deal with something like this, I'd forgotten what it was like." Regina smiled lovingly at Henry who smiled awkwardly back.

"Daddy, can you read me a bedtime story, pretty please?" pleaded Roland.

"Of course I will. In fact, I'll read you two!" promised Robin. "Go and get ready for bed, I'll be up in a minute."

Roland cheered as he scrambled off his chair and up the stairs.

Robin continued to eat his meal. "So, Henry, how's school?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"Fine" shrugged Henry. "I've got a school project on the first ogre war to do."

Robin looked surprised. "Bit of a grim subject, isn't it?"

Before Henry could answer, Regina interrupted. "The town council thought the children of Storybrooke should learn about Enchanted Forest history. It was inevitable that the Ogre Wars were going to come up."

"The council could've picked a less bloody war for the kids to learn about" remarked Robin.

Henry chimed in. "Grandma says that it's actually a good subject for eighth graders to learn about since it was kids our age that were sent to fight. She says it actually gives the scale of it some perspective."

"As much as I don't want to agree with Snow, she's right on this point." admitted Regina. "Teaching kids about the mistakes of the past will help prevent them repeating those same mistakes in the future."

Robin scoffed. "We're hardly going to have an ogre war in Storybrooke!"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "We've had two curses, an angry giant, my mother, Pan, my sister, two ice queens, a spell of shattered sight, a chernabog, a dragon, the dragon's mother, Rumplestiltskin, the author, Emma going dark, and a whole host of other things. What makes you think ogres are beyond the realm of possibility?"

Robin averted his gaze. "Okay, point taken. I just think it's a bit unnecessary, that's all."

Regina was about to respond when the sound of Ivy crying could be heard over the baby monitor. "I'll go" said Regina. "Roland is waiting for you to read him some stories."

Robin followed after Regina leaving Henry alone. Henry decided to clear the table, it was his home too and he didn't want to be made to feel like a guest. After stacking the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, Henry went upstairs. On the way to his bedroom, he passed by Roland's room and glanced inside. He spotted Roland lying in bed entranced as his father read him a story about a flying elephant. Hurrying into his own bedroom and shutting the door, Henry felt a pang of longing. He knew he was being silly, he was too old for bedtime stories, he just wished he'd gotten the chance to have what Roland had with Robin with his own dad. He wished he'd had more time to get to know his dad, from meeting him in Manhattan to having to say goodbye at the town line. His dad had said that he would see him again, but it never happened. His dad died and Henry never got to say a final goodbye. Fighting back tears, Henry grabbed his storybook and turned to the page depicting his father as a boy. Henry wanted his dad, he wanted to celebrate father's day and do all the things that a father and son do together, most of all he just wanted to talk to his father. That's when Henry had an idea, and the more he thought about it, the more a plan began to form in his mind. He couldn't bring back the dead, it was against the laws of magic and it didn't end well with Daniel, however, there was no reason why he couldn't talk to the dead. All he needed was the right equipment.


	2. Operation Phoenix

Henry woke up early the next morning and went downstairs to the kitchen. The library didn't open until 10am so he decided that Operation Phoenix would commence after breakfast. As he poured himself some cornflakes, Robin entered the kitchen and began preparing a bottle of formula for Ivy. Almost as if on cue, Ivy's cries could be heard from upstairs.

"It's coming, darling!" Robin called to his daughter but her cries remained persistent.

Henry said nothing, wanting to eat his breakfast in peace. Afterwards he got dressed and made his way into town, taking his empty backpack with him. He loitered across the street from the library, waiting for Belle to arrive and open up. He needed to avoid her so that she wouldn't ask him any awkward questions. He spotted some of his classmates waiting outside the library and guessed they were there to do research on their school projects. Too bad for them that he borrowed the relevant books yesterday. He watched as Belle arrived and unlocked before going inside, closely followed by his classmates. Henry crossed the street and quietly slipped inside, Belle was distracted by someone asking for assistance, so he tiptoed over to the Parapsychology section. He scanned through the titles but none of them seemed to be suitable for his needs. Deciding that the Magic and Ritual section might be more appropriate, Henry began to plan his route over there. Belle was at her desk and there was no way he could get past her without her noticing. His only chance was for her to get distracted again. Fortunately, two of his classmates began to argue in the far corner and Belle got up to try and sort it out. Knowing that time was of the essence, Henry dashed over to Magic and Ritual and glanced over the titles. He was grateful that Belle liked to keep the library alphabetised and he found " _So You Want To Talk To The Dead?"_ with relative ease. Putting it in his backpack, and seeing that Belle was still occupied, Henry took the opportunity to sneak out of the library.

Out in the fresh air, Henry congratulated himself on successfully completing the first part of his secret mission. All he needed was to read the book he'd just acquired and find out what he needed to do to progress to the next stage. He headed to Granny's Diner and found himself an empty table. He placed the book flat on the table and began skimming through the pages.

"Hey, Henry!"

Henry jumped with surprise. He looked up to see who had spoken to find Ruby standing there with her notebook in hand and pencil poised. "You want anything?" she inquired.

"Um yeah, I'll have a… a hot chocolate with cinnamon please" he replied, trying to casually cover the pages.

Ruby wrote down his order. "Anything else?"

Henry shook his head. Ruby walked off and Henry released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. He had to be more careful. He continued searching through the pages, glancing around nervously for Ruby's return. He'd just found the page he was looking for when she came back and place his drink on the table. "Thanks" he smiled, moving the book to the far side, as Ruby nodded and walked away. When she was gone, he pulled the book back in front of him and began reading.

The ritual seemed simple enough, the difficulty was in getting the ingredients. Dragon breath, mermaid tears, and belladonna oil weren't things that could be found at the local supermarket. If they were going to be anywhere in Storybrooke, it would be in Rumplestiltskin's shop. From his time working as the shop apprentice, Henry knew where his grandfather kept his potion ingredients in the back room, unfortunately Rumplestiltskin tended to spend most his day in the back room. Henry sat and thought deeply how to solve this problem whilst drinking his hot chocolate. First, he needed a purpose to be over at the shop to begin with. Secondly, he needed to get his grandfather out the backroom so he could look for the ingredients. Lastly, he needed a reason to leave to avoid raising suspicion. Henry continued to think for a while. As he finished his drink, the solution struck him. Smiling, Henry packed the book back into his bag and approached the diner bar where Granny was wiping the counter. "Can I get a tea to go, milk and two sugars please?"

With the tea paid for, Henry made his way out of Granny's Diner and over to Mr Gold's Pawnshop. The bell chimed as Henry opened the shop door and Rumplestiltskin emerged from the back room to see who had dared enter his domain. "Henry? What are you doing here?"

"I brought you tea" answered Henry, holding up the polystyrene cup.

Rumplestiltskin was confused. Aside from Belle, the whole town had been giving him a wide berth since the author incident. He was more or less persona non grata with the entire Charming clan so Henry's arrival at the shop was unexpected. "Do your mothers know you're here?"

"They're busy" shrugged Henry, quickly changing the subject. "Can I have my job back?"

"You still want to be my apprentice?" Rumplestiltskin hadn't meant to sound so surprised at his grandson's request, but he'd assumed that Henry also wanted nothing to do with him. It seems he'd been wrong. "When do you want to start?"

"I've got some spare time now" Henry replied, walking through to the backroom. He placed his bag on the floor near the potion cupboard. "What do you want me to do?"

Rumplestiltskin followed him, struggling to think of a task so he made one up on the spot. "The floor in here could do with sweeping, if you want to of course?"

"Sure thing" Henry smiled, grabbing a broom. He began to sweep the clean floor. Rumplestiltskin sat back down in the far corner and resumed tinkering with the clock that was in pieces on the worktop, every once in a while sipping the cup of tea Henry had brought him.

For a whole hour, Henry swept the floor. His grandfather seemed so engrossed with fixing the clock that Henry began to wonder if Rumplestiltskin would even notice if he searched for the ingredients then and there. Henry swept closer and closer to the potion cupboard. "Hey grandpa, have you got a dustpan I could use?"

Rumplestiltskin was preoccupied with fixing the trinket in front of him. "It's in one of the cupboards" he murmured, not looking up.

"Okay thanks." Henry took what could be his only chance to look through the potion cupboard under the pretence of finding the dustpan. He was careful not to knock the glass bottles together in case it gave him away. He found the mermaid tears first, closely followed by the dragon's breath and placed them in his bag. The belladonna oil was the hardest to find, what with it being a small thin vial hidden amongst the larger bottles, but that too found its way into his bag. Henry quietly closed the cupboard and set to finding the dustpan. He found it on the top shelf in one of the back cupboards and dutifully swept up the barely there pile of dust and emptied it into the bin. With the second phase of Operation Phoenix complete, Henry now needed to make his escape. He put the dustpan back where it belonged and carefully picked up his bag, making sure not to rattle the glass bottles together. "Grandpa, I've got to go. I've got a school project to do that's due in Monday."

Rumplestiltskin stopped what he was doing and turned to Henry. "Why didn't you say? I wouldn't have kept you."

"It's fine, really. I like working here. See you later." Henry bid goodbye then made his way out of the shop into the fresh air. He'd done it! He'd gotten everything he needed. He was going to talk to his dad today and he couldn't be more excited. As he walked down the street, a broad grin spread across his face, he noticed Regina's car parked outside the Dark Star Pharmacy. Not wanting to risk being seen by his mom, Henry doubled back and used the backstreets to make his way to the house.

Robin was sat on the sofa reading a story to Roland, a rare chance whilst Ivy was asleep, when Henry returned. "Where have you been?" questioned Robin.

"Out" Henry replied evasively. He knew this was the perfect opportunity to complete Operation Phoenix and he only had a limited time to do so. "I've got my school project to do so I don't want to be disturbed" he said, starting up the staircase to his bedroom.

"That's fine" acknowledged Robin, turning his attention back to Roland and the book.

Henry entered his bedroom and closed the door, emptying his bag out onto his bed. He collected his dad's scarf from his closet and opened the stolen library book to see what he had to do. He poured the belladonna oil into the mermaid tears then added them to the dragon's breath. The mixture began to hiss and fizzle. Henry checked the words of the incantation. He poured the concoction onto the scarf and chanted "ablocare occasus animus reverto ad mortem." Nothing seemed to happen. "Ablocare occasus animus reverto ad mortem" he repeated. All of a sudden, acrid purple smoke engulfed him and the last thing he remembered was his bedroom spinning before everything around him went black.

Henry awoke face down in a grassy clearing. Surrounded by shadowy forest, he could hear the sound of pounding hoof beats and shouting somewhere amongst the trees. Getting to his feet, Henry looked up, trying to determine a sense of direction but it was no use, the sun was too low in the sky and shielded by the trees to offer any assistance. Suddenly someone collided with Henry, sending them both sprawling to the floor. It was a boy, about Henry's age, with blond hair. "What did you do that for?" asked Henry, his arm sore from the impact.

The boy checked to see how much distance there was between himself and his pursuers before turning to Henry. "Run!"


	3. A Parent's Worst Nightmare

Robin and Roland looked up when they heard the loud thump. "Daddy, what was that noise?" Roland asked.

"I don't know" answered Robin. "Wait here and I'll go find out. Something's probably just fallen over".

Roland turned back to his book as Robin made his way upstairs.

"Henry, did you knock something over?" enquired Robin. There was no response. Robin stood outside Henry's bedroom door and knocked. "Henry, is everything alright?" There was still no reply. Opening the door, Robin looked inside to find Henry lying seemingly lifeless on the floor. "HENRY!" he shouted, shaking the teenager to try and wake him but Henry didn't stir. Robin ran out of the room and down the stairs to the telephone and dialled for an ambulance.

Meanwhile, Regina stood outside the pharmacy, scanning the instructions on the newly purchased teething gel, when she heard someone call her name. Looking up, she saw Snow White and her baby stroller heading straight for her with Charming following at a more leisurely pace. Regina sighed, she wasn't in the mood to chat with her step-daughter or son-in-law, there was a cranky baby at home that caused her and Robin to be up half the night.

"Hi Regina! How've you been?" Snow greeted enthusiastically.

Regina forced a smile. "I'm fine. I'm just picking up something gel for Ivy, she's teething at the moment."

Snow nodded sympathetically. "I know what you're going through. Neal was a nightmare when he started getting his first teeth. He'd cry and cry and cry, nothing seemed to settle him."

"Yeah. I started to think we dodged a bullet there with Emma" chimed in Charming.

"How can you say that?" admonished Snow. "We missed out on her daughter's childhood!"

"Hey now" said Charming, trying to appease his wife. "I'm not saying I don't wish we'd gotten the chance to raise Emma, just that there's some aspects of it that I don't miss as much as others."

Regina didn't want to be stuck in the middle of Snow and Charming bickering. She prayed that something would happen that could get her out of this situation when fortuitously her cell phone began to ring. Thanking her lucky stars, Regina excused herself, citing it as an important call that she had to take. She got back into her car and answered the call from Robin. "Hello?"

"Regina!" came Robin's panicked voice. "You have to come home urgently! It's Henry, I don't know what he's done but he went upstairs and next thing I know he's lying unconscious on the bedroom floor! I've rang an ambulance and they're on their way but I don't know what he's done! One minute he was fine then the next he's not!"

Regina's blood ran cold. "I'm on my way!" She hung up and drove as fast as she could home, everything Robin just told her running through her mind. As she pulled up in the driveway, she got out the car, not stopping to shut the car door, and raced inside. "Where is he?" she demanded as Robin waited for her in the entrance hall.

"Upstairs, in his room" replied Robin as Regina charged past him and up the stairs.

Roland emerged from the living room. "Daddy, what's going on?"

"Stay in there!" ordered Robin, not wanting his son to see what was happening. With Roland out the way, Robin followed Regina to Henry's room.

Regina saw Henry lying on the floor in the recovery position. "Henry!" she gasped, rushing to her son's side. "Henry, can you hear me?" There was no response. "How long has he been like this?"

Robin glanced anxiously at the clock. "About ten minutes"

Regina checked Henry over. "There's no sign of physical injury" she observed. "And Henry's never suffered from anything like this before. If I didn't know any better, I would say this is magic induced, but that's unlikely. Henry doesn't use magic, and I can't think of anyone that would want to target him. Where the hell is that ambulance?"

Just then, Robin noticed the empty glass bottle lying on the floor beside Henry's bed. He picked it up and read the handwritten label attached to the front. "Regina, I think I've found something."

Regina took the bottle from Robin and examined it, there was only one person she knew who would label something so helpfully. "This is Belle's handwriting" she said, mind racing for answers. Her face darkened as she came to a realisation. "Gold. Henry got this from Gold's shop. The little librarian worked there for a while."

Before Robin could comment, red and blue lights flashed outside the window. He ran down the stairs and wrenched open the front door. "He's up in his room!" he informed the paramedics as they grabbed their medical kits.

"It's going to be okay, Henry" Regina soothed. She reluctantly stood back as the paramedics set to work. Feeling anger surge through her veins at her son's current predicament, Regina stormed out of Henry's bedroom.

Robin grabbed her arm in concern. "Where are you going?"

Regina jerked her arm out of Robin's grasp. "To have a talk with that twisted imp!" she snapped. Her tone softened as her gaze drifted towards Henry who was being placed onto a stretcher. "Stay with him. I'll meet you at the hospital."

Robin didn't get chance to explain that he couldn't leave because of Roland and Ivy before Regina had teleported away. The paramedics began wheeling Henry towards the stairs. Robin followed them to the front door and, as they loaded Henry into the ambulance, he picked up the phone and began dialling.

Regina materialised outside Rumplestiltskin's shop and used her magic to fling the door open. "Show yourself, Gold!" she demanded.

Rumplestiltskin emerged from the backroom. "Regina? What are you doing here?"

Regina marched up to the counter and slammed the empty bottle down on it. "Cut the crap and don't try playing innocent! I want you to explain yourself!"

Rumplestiltskin looked from Regina to the bottle and back again. "Where did you get this?"

"Henry had it" Regina scowled. "You gave it to him!"

"Do you really think I'd give my own grandson something as potentially dangerous as this?" Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes at the accusation.

Regina sneered. "I'm not thinking it, I'm saying it. I want to know why!"

"The only thing I gave my grandson was his job back" said Rumplestiltskin evenly. "Ask Henry, he'll tell you the same."

"I would if he wasn't unconscious and on his way to hospital!" spat Regina.

Rumplestiltskin's demeanour instantly changed to one of concern. "Is he going to be okay?"

"You tell me. If he dies….." Regina trailed off, she didn't want to even consider that possibility.

Rumplestiltskin thought for a moment. Of course it had all been a ruse, why else would Henry want to spend any time with him after everything he'd done? He'd been foolish to think Henry had really wanted to be his apprentice again. "Come with me".

Regina followed Rumplestiltskin into the backroom where he began pulling various labelled bottles out of a cupboard and setting them on a countertop. "What are you d-" Regina began but Rumplestiltskin cut her off.

"Henry was here earlier, doing some sweeping. He was in this area and, since that dragon's breath has come from my shop, I need to see if there is anything else missing." Rumplestiltskin found his answer. "The belladonna oil and mermaid tears are gone. Individually, their effects on a person can be unpleasant but are relatively minor. If Henry's mixed them with the dragon's breath though…..well let's just say we've got a big problem on our hands.

"What kind of problem?" asked Regina impatiently.

"Henry's managed to rip his soul from his body and send it to a netherworld" answered Rumplestiltskin grimly. "Unless we act quickly, Henry's soul will be trapped forever and he will never wake up. He'll exist as an empty shell."

"So we just have to go to the Netherworld, retrieve Henry's soul and reunite it with his body? That doesn't sound too bad." Regina hoped it would be that simple.

"Yes I'm sure it'll be just like a walk in the park" replied Rumplestiltskin sardonically. "I presume you know which Netherworld you're going to?"

Regina looked at him disbelievingly. "There's more than one?"

"Afraid so, and unless we know which netherworld Henry has trapped himself in, the chance of rescue is slim. Fortunately, there may be a way to follow after Henry and bring him back. The bad news is it's very risky and I can't guarantee a safe return."

"I don't care how risky. I'm going to save my son!" declared Regina.

"Then I'll see you back here tonight."

Regina nodded and left without another word.

At the hospital, Emma sat quietly, waiting for Dr Whale's prognosis of Henry. Hook sat beside her, clutching her hand and trying to reassure her that everything would be okay.

"What are you doing here?"

Emma was startled by Regina's sudden appearance. "Robin called and told me what had happened. "Why didn't you?"

"Because I was busy trying to find out what was wrong with Henry!" responded Regina defensively.

"And?" demanded Emma, wanting an answer.

Before Regina could reply, Doctor Whale appeared. Emma and Hook stood up to hear what he had to say.

"I've ran tests and they're all inconclusive. As far as I can tell, aside from the unconsciousness, there is nothing physically wrong with Henry. All we can do is monitor him and wait for him to wake up of his own accord. The only time I've seen something like this was just before the curse broke and you brought Henry in then, Miss Swan, presenting similar symptoms..."

"It's not a sleeping curse. Not this time" replied Regina.

Whale took a deep breath. "Let me be frank. This is a magical problem, not a medical one. You'd be better off consulting someone with knowledge in this area who might actually be able to help you."

Regina glared at Whale accusingly. "You're throwing Henry out?"

"Not at all" protested Whale, not wanting to rile the Evil Queen's wrath. "I'm advising you to seek advice with someone who has more in-depth magical expertise than I do. We will continue to monitor Henry here but we can't improve his condition for him. Now I'm sorry but I have other patients to attend to."

"What is going on?" Emma asked Regina as Whale walked away.

Regina decided to get straight to the point. "It would seem that Henry has managed to trap his soul in a netherworld. He was messing with magic from Gold's shop."

"Why?" Emma thought she had made it clear to Henry that he was not to go near Rumplestiltskin.

"I don't know" answered Regina. "I spoke to Gold and he said there is a way we can go after Henry-"

"You went and saw the crocodile?" interrupted Hook. "After everything he's done, you went to him for help?"

"Like it or not, Rumplestiltskin is our best option here" retorted Regina. She turned back to Emma. "There's risks of course, all magic comes with a price. I just hope Henry hasn't learnt that the hard way."

Emma hugged her friend in comfort. "I don't care how risky it is, we are going to save our son."

Regina couldn't help but let out a small laugh at Emma's echoing of her earlier words. "We should get everyone together and tell them what has happened. Gold has a plan and we're to meet him back at his shop tonight. I just hope Henry's okay wherever he is."


	4. New Friends and Old Acquaintances

"Run!"

Henry had never run so fast in his life. He followed his new companion as they sprinted away from their unseen pursuers. Eventually, both boys had to stop to catch their breath. "I think we lost them" panted Henry, leaning up against a tree for support.

"I hope so" replied the unknown boy. "That was close."

"Who were they?" asked Henry. He hadn't expected to find himself in a different world, he thought he was only going to talk to his dad, but this place certainly wasn't Storybrooke.

"The Heartless, they're the queen's guards" answered the boy. "You're obviously new here. What's your name?"

"Henry"

"I'm Rufio" replied the boy, holding his hand out for Henry to shake.

Henry shook it. "I'm looking for my dad, have you seen him?"

Rufio shrugged. "I've seen lots of people, you'll have to be more specific. What's his name?"

"Neal, but he also goes by the name Baelfire."

Rufio looked at Henry quizzically. "Baelfire? As in son of the Dark One Baelfire?"

Henry's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah! You know him?"

"I knew him" said Rufio. "In Neverland. We were friends. He always said he'd find a way off the island but I never thought he'd actually do it. Good for him."

"Have you seen him here?" Henry pressed, wanting confirmation.

"Afraid not." Seeing the disappointed look on Henry's face, Rufio tried to cheer him up. "Do you want to stay at mine tonight? We can come up with a plan to find your dad."

"Why are you helping me?" questioned Henry. He didn't mean to sound rude or ungrateful, but after the way Zelena got close to Snow pretending to be a friendly midwife, he found it prudent to be more suspicious of strangers.

"Any son of Baelfire's is a friend of mine" Rufio responded brightly.

With no better option, Henry cautiously agreed to the offer and allowed Rufio to lead him further into the forest as night began to fall. On the way, Rufio talked animatedly and Henry learned a little about him. He found out that Rufio had gone to Neverland with his older brother after the first ogre war had ended, that Rufio had helped Baelfire escape Neverland, and that he had died from drowning at the hands of a pirate as punishment. In turn, Henry explained how Emma had given him away as a baby to try and give him his best chance, how Regina had adopted him after casting a curse that lasted 28 years, and how he met his dad for the first time in Manhattan. Eventually Rufio led him to a ramshackle cottage.

"Here it is!" Rufio beamed, opening the front door. "Home sweet home!"

Henry expected the inside to be just as dilapidated as the outside appeared to be but as he entered after Rufio, he was surprised to find it rather cosy and was greeted by the delicious smell of cooking as an older woman with grey hair stirred something in a cooking pot. The woman looked up at them.

"Who's this?" she inquired.

"Ruth, this is Henry" introduced Rufio. "He's new here so I told him he could stay with us, he's not got anywhere else to go."

"I don't want to be any bother" said Henry, feeling like an inconvenience.

Ruth smiled warmly. "Don't be silly, you are very welcome here."

Rufio grabbed Henry by the arm. "Come on, you can share my room."

Henry allowed Rufio to lead him towards the back of the cottage and into a small room. There was a makeshift bed in the corner with clutter strewn across the floor.

"Sorry about the mess" cringed Rufio, using his foot to push the offending items aside. "I wasn't expecting company."

"Don't worry about it" reassured Henry politely.

"I'll get you some blankets." Rufio disappeared before returning with his arms full of blankets. "We normally keep some spare just in case, like if it's extra cold or something."

"Thanks" Henry replied as Rufio helped him to set up his own bed. Afterwards, the two boys sat down and began chatting. It wasn't long before Ruth called them for dinner.

Rufio and Henry sat down to the table as Ruth brought over two bowls of stew and set them down in front of them. Henry thanked her and began digging in.

"Your brother's late tonight" commented Ruth, a hint of concern to her voice.

"He'll turn up, he always does" Rufio responded breezily.

As if on cue, the front door opened and in walked someone Henry thought he'd never see again.

Ruth stood up. "Where have you been? It's long past curfew!"

Felix noticed Henry sat at the table. "What's he doing here?" he scowled.

Rufio looked between his brother and Henry. "You two know each other?"

"We've met" admitted Henry awkwardly. He'd neglected to mention to Rufio that he too had been to Neverland, though under less optional circumstances.

Felix glared at Henry venomously but said nothing.

Ruth immediately picked up on the tension. "Rufio, why don't you and Henry go and finish your dinners in your room whilst I have a word with Felix."

Rufio sighed. "Come on" he gestured to Henry. Henry dutifully followed Rufio back to his room. Once inside, Rufio turned to face Henry. "So how do you know my brother?"

"We met in Neverland" confessed Henry. "Pan tried to kill me but my dad and moms saved me."

Rufio took a moment to process this new piece of information before speaking. "I'm sorry my brother can be a bit of a jerk sometimes."

"It's okay." Henry sat and finished his meal in silence before curiosity got the better of him. "What did Ruth mean about it being past curfew?"

Rufio looked uneasy. "We have a queen here that likes to enslave people every opportunity she gets. Any little thing such as being out after dark can get you arrested and hauled off to the queen's court where she rips out your heart and makes you her slave. Nobody escapes once they are taken."

"Why doesn't anyone stop her?" questioned Henry.

"Because everyone is scared of her" explained Rufio. " Didn't you hear me? She rips out hearts!"

Henry suddenly made the connection. "The queen's guards, you called them The Heartless. Are you telling me they were people the queen captured and enslaved?"

Rufio nodded solemnly before having an idea. "Hey, you know what? There's a small village not far from here with a tavern. Lots of people pass through there, someone might've seen your dad. We could go there early tomorrow morning and ask around if you want? The Heartless don't patrol in the mornings."

"Thanks" Henry grinned, relieved that he now had a plan of action. He still didn't know how he was going to get back to Storybrooke yet but he could think about that once he had found his dad.

"We should get some rest now" suggested Rufio, as he got into his own bed. "We'll get up at dawn, by the time we make our way to the tavern, we should get a few hours to ask about your dad. Someone's bound to have seen him."

Henry eagerly agreed and settled into his bed for the night. It wasn't as comfortable as his bed back home but for one night he could tolerate it. It was a small price to pay if it meant he found his dad tomorrow.


	5. Summary because of Discontinuation

Apologies that there has been no update on this story since September. Life just got in the way, time marched on as did the show, and motivation to continue this story became non-existent. Unfortunately I will be discontinuing this story. However I will do my best to sum up where the story was heading.

Ruth in the Netherworld is Charming's mother and thus Henry's great-great grandmother. She has kind of semi-adopted Rufio and Felix.

Obviously we know Felix from Neverland. Rufio is Felix's brother and the same Rufio that Hook mentioned he did something to. The reveal was going to be that what Hook did was drown Rufio (like Hook tried to do to Tiger Lily in Peter Pan, but actually succeeded) because Rufio was getting friendly with Baelfire and Hook believed Rufio to be a threat. Since Henry was researching the first ogre war, it turns out that Felix and Rufio had actually fought in that war. Felix wants nothing to do with Henry whilst Rufio is more open and friendly towards him.

The "Heartless" are the queen's soldiers who had their hearts controlled by the queen. The queen is Cora because she has the heart stealing trademarked.

One of the heartless was going to turn out to be Nealfire. He'd had his heart taken and was now forced to work for Cora.

Emma and co went to the netherworld, found Henry who was accompanied by Rufio and Felix, but they were all arrested by Cora's soldiers. They discovered Nealfire was one of them.

Cora ordered the group to be thrown into the "screechers" pit. The Screechers were monsters that hunted by sound, made screechy noisy (think echo location) and devoured those that were thrown into the pit.

The group escape the pit with Felix's help, because it turns out he'd managed to escape the pit once before. Emma wants to give Henry the magic potion that would send his soul back into his body so he can tell Rumple to wake Emma and co up thus problem solved. However, Henry refuses to leave because he wants to save his dad and Emma reluctantly agrees.

The group defeat Cora, Nealfire gets his heart back and imparts some words of wisdom to Henry that makes Henry feel better.

Henry, Emma and co return to Storybrooke. Rufio, Felix, Nealfire and Ruth accidentally get brought to Storybrooke as well and then the story would deal with them adjusting to life in Storybrooke. Ruth would get to see her grandkids plus Snowing. Nealfire would get brought over too. He would build a relationship with both Rumple and Henry. The price of magic though is that Nealfire, Ruth, Felix and Rufio were stuck age wise and would never grow old. Everyone around them would grow old and die but they could never return to the netherworld so they were trapped forever in Storybrooke.

The story ends on a happy note with everyone going on with their lives in Storybrooke and being a family.


End file.
